Broncos exit bye week calm, focused

Despite a 3-3 record built on more than a little drama, an argument could be made the Broncos exited their bye week as an island of calm in the storm of the AFC West.

With 10 regular-season weeks to go, the Broncos might have the inside track to the division title, even as they bat such notions away as if they were gnats swirling around their ears.

"It's too early, man," said Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil. "You take care of business, everything takes care of itself, so first things first. We've got a good team (coming in to Denver this week), we can't worry about anything else."

But with the New Orleans Saints set to visit Sports Authority Field at Mile High for a primetime affair Sunday, just look at the troubled waters roiling around the Broncos in their division.

In Kansas City, the reeling Chiefs have benched a $60 million quarterback in Matt Cassel to start former Broncos backup Brady Quinn.

In San Diego, an embattled Norv Turner is answering for two blown leads, including the 24-point whopper that got away against the Broncos. Meanwhile, the league is investigating whether the Chargers used a banned substance to improve their ability to grip the ball in their loss to Denver.

In Oakland, former Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is trying to piece together a lineup from an injury-riddled roster during the early stages of a top-to-bottom franchise makeover. The Raiders needed overtime Sunday to defeat a one-win Jaguars team.

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That leaves the Broncos, who have clawed their way to 3-3 and having already faced three teams that lead their divisions -- Atlanta (6-0), Houston (6-1) and New England (4-3). The Broncos also have a road victory over the Chargers in their pocket with four division games remaining -- two against the 1-5 Chiefs to go with one each against the Raiders and San Diego.

"I don't think people are really looking at those kinds of things in this locker room," tight end Jacob Tamme said. " It all kind of depends on how we handle those next 10 (games). You can't get too wrapped up in the big picture. You have to kind of keep yourself focused on what's right in front of you, on what you need to do week to week."

Maintaining momentum through late fall and early winter has been a trouble spot for the Broncos. Even last season, when they earned their first division title since the 2005 season, the Broncos went 0-3 in their final three games of the regular season.

In the disaster that was the 2010 season, the Broncos went 1-6 over their last seven games and they closed out 2009 going 2-8 in their final 10 games, including losses in the last four games.

In 2008 it was a 2-4 finish, including losses in the last three, a 2-4 finish in 2007 and a 2-5 finish in 2006. All of those late-season stumbles, except last season, resulted in playoff misses.

"That's the thing, you have keep it going, put some wins together, stack them up," Dumervil said. "We can't lose a game, really come back and bounce back win a game, then lose a game. We have to bring it every week."

That, too, has been Turner's message in San Diego with the Chargers coming off a bye this week as well and sitting at 3-3.

"One of our strengths is the way our guys have responded," Turner said. "Obviously we know what we need to do, need to play a complete game. This group has got a lot of fight in them."

The Chargers won four consecutive division titles before Kansas City won the AFC West in 2010 and the Broncos won the division last season. The Broncos, however, haven't won back-to-back division titles since 1986-87.

In their three-year run that included 39 regular-season victories and two Super Bowl victories, the Broncos won the division title in 1996 and 1998 as they were a wild-card team in 1997.

"I think the message is to just take care of our business," Dumervil said. "That's it, if we don't, it won't matter what's happened until now. We just have to do everything to be the team we can be. If we do that, the rest will be there."

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